Media Release:

The 52nd Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament invites visitors and kamaaina to its Billfish Parade this Sunday, July 24, 2011, beginning at 2:30 p.m. The parade will begin at the King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel and wind its way through Kailua Village ending at Hualalai Road.

The HIBT parade will feature international teams including crowd favorites from Australia, Japan, Guam, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and for the first time a team from Peking University, China. Of course there are also great teams from US, including California, Hawaii and Louisiana. Also included in the parade lineup will be Miss Billfish 2011, Kona Shriners Color Guard, Grand Marshal Joe Reynolds and the Echo City Derby Dolls. In all, more than 25 parade entries will excite parade goers!

“We invite the entire community, young and old, to come and bring their families to this fun-filled parade. Teams are excited to be here in beautiful Kona, fishing 5 great days and look forward to the smiles that await them at the parade,” said HIBT Founder Peter Fithian. “The tournament also recognizes the long standing tradition of the Billfish Parade and really sees this parade as the official start of the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament.”

The Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament is underwritten by the generosity of the County of Hawaii and sponsored in part by KWXX Radio and numerous corporate and community donors.

The 2011 HIBT fishing starts Monday, July 25 continues through Friday, July 29.

For more information on the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament, including team listings, IGFA world-record rules and a daily video recap of tournament standings, log onto www.hibtfishing.com.

Media Release:

The Big Island Beekeepers Association wants to get word to beekeepers and apiaries throughout the state, alerting them to requirements for entering the 2nd Annual Hawaiian Natural Honey Challenge. This year the honey challenge is being held in conjunction with the Western Apicultural Society Conference set for Sept. 12-15 at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel on the Kohala coast, according to Cary Dizon, BIBA president.

For the 2011 Hawaiian Natural Honey Challenge, samples in either liquid or solid form must be collected and bottled by the contestant from hives located within the state. No heat may be applied in the extracting or bottling process and no additives, seeding or flavoring may be used. Entries also should not be processed in any way such as “creaming,” “spinning,” or “churning.” Honey may be strained through mesh no smaller than 500 microns.

The deadline for honey producers to submit completed entry forms and payment is Sept. 2. Honey samples can be mailed with entry forms and payment by Sept. 2 or the samples alone can be submitted in person between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Sept. 9 at the Komohana Agriculture Research & Extension Office in Hilo or Kainaliu Extension Office in Kainaliu, Kona. Contestants may submit multiple samples for judging, with separate entry forms and a $5 entry fee for each submission.

Completed entry forms and check must be mailed to 2011 Hawaiian Natural Honey Challenge, c/o Catarina Zaragoza, RR2 Box 3342, Pahoa, HI 96778. Other arrangements for submitting honey may be coordinated with Zaragoza but Sept. 9 is the absolute deadline for accepting the samples. Complete instructions, rules and entry forms are available from Zaragoza whose email is catzdodge@gmail.com or phone her at (808) 965-5387.

Official judging for the honey challenge will be held Monday, Sept. 12 at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. A People’s Choice public tasting event will take place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at the hotel, with all winners of the 2011 Hawaiian Natural Honey Challenge announced at the conclusion of the Sept. 14 public tasting.

Media Release:

U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) delivered a statement on the debt limit today on the Senate floor. The following are Senator Akaka’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wqY2FBEBUo]

Mr. President, I rise to speak about the budget and the debt ceiling, following the Senate’s failure to invoke cloture on a measure expressing that shared sacrifices from all Americans, including the wealthiest, are necessary to reduce the budget deficit.

As the Senate Budget Committee Chair has proposed, we must reach an agreement that strikes a balance between raising revenues and cutting spending, in which all Americans contribute to the solution.

Congress faces an important task. Americans are following this debate because they have a stake in its outcome. If we do not raise the debt ceiling, it will force the government to choose which of its many obligations it will meet.

As President Obama pointed out last week, we cannot guarantee that veterans and Social Security recipients will receive the checks we owe them on August 3 if we fail to reach a compromise. If we fail, we will damage our credit rating and worldwide confidence in our financial system.

To avoid such a situation, I call on all of my colleagues to negotiate in good faith so that the creditworthiness of the United States is not compromised. I hope we can reach an agreement that will bring down the debt without placing most of the burden on the vulnerable among us: the sick, the poor, the long-term unemployed, and the elderly.

Mr. President, while we must reduce spending, we cannot forget to continue investing in our nation’s future. I came of age during the Great Depression and served in World War II, along with my colleagues Senator Inouye and Senator Lautenberg.

We were the beneficiaries of one of the federal government’s greatest investments: the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, more commonly known as the GI Bill of Rights. This visionary federal legislation enabled returning World War II veterans, many who, like myself, came from families of modest means and may never have otherwise attended college.

The GI Bill not only changed the lives of its beneficiaries, it changed the United States by laying the groundwork for the emergence of our middle class, which remains the backbone of our country. Many other valuable investments made in the years that followed, such as the Interstate Highway System and federal funding for research programs at the nation’s leading universities, propelled America into one of history’s greatest periods of economic expansion, social advancement, and technological innovation.

None of these investments simply happened. They were made by past Congresses and Presidents from both parties. These legacies have proven repeatedly that dedicated social and economic investments are effective drivers of recovery, growth, and future success. As we move forward and make difficult but necessary choices to cut spending, we must strengthen those programs that are restoring our economic health.

Reaching an agreement on the debt ceiling and deficit reduction will undoubtedly require all of us to make difficult compromises on spending and revenues. As debate on these issues continues, I urge each of my colleagues to remember the obligation that we have to preserve the nation’s creditworthiness and to defend our veterans and those depending on Social Security and other safety net programs from harm as we continue to make needed investments for recovery.

On Saturday a member of the newly formed Opala in Paradise group posted the following on facebook:

Our Postal carrier just advised me that someone dumped 8 batteries by the mailboxes at Papaya Farms Road….about 1/2 mile WaaWaa side of Four Corners.

Where the batteries were located via my Facebook "Check-In"

I knew that I would be in the area today so I went and checked it out and this is what I found:

Before

There were actually 9 batteries that were here and they weren’t just the standard car batteries they were the larger ones that can power things like golf carts and some of the batteries actually stated that they were golf cart batteries.

I loaded the batteries into the back of my car as my son just stood there astounded that someone could dump all these batteries on the side of the road like this.

During

As I was driving back into Pahoa I noticed one more of these batteries at “Four Corners” in Kapoho so I stopped and grabbed that and put it the front of my car. I thought my tires were gonna pop my car was so weighted down!

We drove the 8 miles from the location to Pahoa Battery and Propane and I dropped them off there free of charge.

After

So folks that don’t know… you don’t need to dump your batteries on the side of the road illegally. There is a place that will take them and I’d like to thank Pahoa Battery and Propane for providing this service.